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This is us, America. This is who we are at this precise moment in time. A nation that separates families. A nation that interns children and infants in detention camps far from their parents, farther still from those the Trump administration perceives to be his meddlesome enemies; those whose prying eyes, brimming with empathy, and voices of reason are a threat to his regime. This is us, America. This is who we are – or have become – in the eyes of the world. This is exactly what other autocrats – among them, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un, and Turkey’s Recep Erdoğan – would like their own people… Read More

Instead of being saddled with the sycophantic Donald J. Trump, Jr., who currently finds himself the subject of intense legal scrutiny, President Trump might have been better served by siring someone like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. After all, the Prime Minister and Junior, both in their 40’s, share some things in common. Some. Both are the children of highly-visible fathers with varying levels of success. Junior’s dad was formerly known for being a television reality star, in addition to being a well-heeled promoter of real estate, vodka, steaks, neckties, universities, far-fetched political conspiracy theories and questionable foreign and international trade policies. Justin Trudeau is the son of a formidable… Read More

During WWII, when the communist government of Josef Stalin joined the United States and Great Britain in their battle against Nazi Germany, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill observed, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Somehow the interpretation of this message has been lost in translation for President Trump. He’s turned friends into enemies and enemies into friends. The gnawing question continues to be why? The Russians meddled into our elections. Our intelligence agencies have made this abundantly clear. They present ever-increasing evidence that the Putin regime did so to favor one candidate over another. This does not mean, however, the Russian government alone was responsible for President Trump’s… Read More

Last year, as the tightly wound spool of scandal surrounding his administration started to unravel, President Trump reportedly asked a roomful of White House officials rhetorically, “Where’s my Roy Cohn?” In addition to serving as the president’s mentor, attorney, and fixer, the late Mr. Cohn is an ignominious footnote in our nation’s history for the persecutorial role he played during Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy’s investigations into communist activity during the 1950’s. Every passing day brings further evidence that the president has found his Roy Cohn redux. His name is Rudy Giuliani. Heralded as “America’s Mayor” in the wake of 9/11, Mr. Giuliani has reemerged – demonically, phoenix-like, eyeglasses often crazily… Read More

President Trump’s latest assault on undocumented aliens reached a new low last week when he said, “These aren’t people, these are animals.” Essentially, the president believes undocumented aliens are subhuman, or Untermensch, which was part of the justification used by leaders of Nazi-Germany to herd “undesirable” groups into death camps. These undesirables included Jews, Roma (Gypsies), Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, political opponents of the Nazi hierarchy, and anyone else Adolf Hitler and his cronies didn’t like. Whatever most normal people’s opinion of undocumented aliens is – positive or negative – it’s unlikely that the majority of Americans view them as “animals.” The exception to that statement, of course, is if they… Read More

It may seem hard to believe that a thrice-married, serial philanderer like Donald J. Trump could prove himself to be more effective than couples therapy but, in the case of my wife and I, it’s true. Donald Trump saved my marriage. During the 2016 presidential campaign, there were many stories reported about friendships, relationships and, yes, even marriages destroyed by volatile clashes arising from Donald Trump’s primary bid and his eventual nomination as Republican party candidate. Not so for us. Candidate and eventual-President Trump brought my wife and I together, helping us grow closer than we’d been in years. Like many couples, the day-to-day toll of work and raising a… Read More

From the moment he took office, President Trump has repeatedly experienced buyer’s remorse. In the last week, the president has undermined a key member of his administration and reversed course on his own foreign and economic policies. This should come as no surprise. It’s standard operating procedure for the Trump White House. President Trump promised to “Make America Great Again” and to put America first. By acting in a wishy-washy manner, he demonstrates he is incapable of doing either. On the campaign trail, the president promised he would be tough with our adversaries. That he would pull out of NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). That he would punish those… Read More

American response to the catastrophic humanitarian crisis Syria has been experiencing for the last seven years has been tepid at best. With Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s most recent chemical attack on the Syrian people, inaction is no longer an option. While President Trump would like to lay blame for the ongoing atrocities being committed by the Assad government at former President Barack Obama’s doorstep, it’s time he recognizes that the failings of his predecessor are no excuse for his own inability to act decisively and in a manner befitting the office he now holds. The Obama administration bears significant responsibility for the current situation in Syria. The “red line,” the… Read More

Roseanne Barr has risen from the dead. After a lengthy absence from television, Roseanne and the rest of her fictional Conner family are once again gracing our living rooms. And now, as then, she’s not limiting herself to once-weekly sitcom appearances to make her presence known. Her recent use of Twitter assures us of that. Roseanne was – and remains – a brilliant media strategist. In addition to the role she played on her show, she fostered a public persona that sometimes, quite deliberately, left her looking as though she were the sole survivor of a very bad train wreck. And the American people loved her for it. For close… Read More

It’s fascinating to hear the president rail against those who don’t pay their fair share of taxes or have grown too powerful. This from a man who thinks he’s smarter than everyone else. Because he doesn’t pay taxes. And has grown too powerful. President Trump is whining, yet again, about Jeff Bezos and his brainchild, Amazon. In a recent tweet, he tapped out “Unlike others, they [Amazon] pay littler [sic] or no taxes to state & local governments, use our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the U.S.), and are putting many thousands of retailers out of business!” Can you believe it? The president is absolutely… Read More